The Price of Failure
by Link015
Summary: [Soul Calibur III]Tira was his servant. She was the one he entrusted to keep himself alive. But she failed him. His body had died and now he was just an essence. He could only hope she wouldn't fail again.


Chris: Ahem, well, this is my first Soul Calibur fic…And this one deals with Soul Calibur III. It has some slight spoilers for Tira's ending, so if you don't like that, then don't read. And for those who might think this is just a story version of the ending, then you're mistaken, as it isn't. I have a whole plotline based off of the ending…So I hope you enjoy it!

Oh yes, I'm having an OC too. And no, no one's gonna fall in love with her. They're all involved with someone else.

Disclaimer: I don't own Soul Calibur III. My OC, who will appear in chapter 2, _is_ mine, however.

Note: Everyone is going to be alive, except for Nightmare (Obviously, since he gets killed), and Zasalamel (Also obvious).

* * *

**Chapter 1: A New Host**

Tira grunted angrily, lugging her ring blade over her shoulder. She cast a dark look behind her at the abandoned cathedral behind her. The teenage assassin flipped back some of her floppy blue-green hair and continued walking, beginning the slow trek towards Greece, where two available hosts for the Soul Edge lived. Tira looked almost lovingly at the ring she was carrying, running her fingers of the fleshy-feeling edges and savoring the feeling that she felt emanating from the evil weapon. For it was her ring blade that contained the essence of Soul Edge itself, a fact that Tira would never forget.

"Damn nuisance…If it wasn't for him…" Tira grumbled, remembering her earlier bout with Zasalamel, who had turned into some sort of demon right in front of her. Obviously, she had dispatched the unholy creature, but that thing had wounded her and being wounded was something she always tried to avoid, as it meant that her skills were not as good as they could be.

"Just a little longer…master…" Tira muttered unconsciously as she continued to struggle with the blade, feeling its dark energy seeping through the air and slowly feeding off of her life force. Grinning slightly to herself, she continued on her lonely journey, heading to the one place where her master would be happy. The location was Athens, Greece, where the two children of Sophitia, a Greek woman who had been infected with a piece of the Soul Edge, lived.

_---_

"…" Tira sighed to herself as she leaned against a tree, lying on the leafy ground beneath her, which blended with her outfit of light green cloth and fluffy, giant, green feathers that rimmed her neck, legs, and wrists. She sighed again as she looked at the weapon at her side. Her master certainly would not be happy about this. In fact, _she_ wasn't happy about this, since this was a needless delay, but one that she had to take because her body wasn't strong enough to handle two-days of hard trekking without collapsing.

The blue green-haired assassin turned to her side and blinked her dark-purple eyes, smiling as she saw a small crow alight on a branch next to her. She reached out a purple-gloved hand to the black-winged animal and slowly petted its feathers. "Hello, friend." Tira smiled slightly and brought the crow closer to her, giving it a small kiss. The crow seemed to nod before flying off, cawing.

Tira closed her eyes, getting ready to sleep. She would only sleep for as long as she was able and not a second more. Her master would not like this delay and she had no wish to make her master displeased with her. After all, the Soul Edge was the only master Tira had left and it technically was the only person she had left. The lithe, blue green-haired assassin folded her arms below her breasts and slowly fell asleep, her internal timer clicking away the seconds before she had to wake once again.

­_---_

"Get out of my way!" Tira said fiercely. Along her journey, she had been accosted by a couple of brigands from a nearby gang and this certainly wasn't what she _or_ her master needed. "You people aren't even strong enough to have a second of my time! I'll break you before you can even move!"

"Hah! Look at the girl talk rough!" The apparent leader of the brigands let out a rough laugh. His gaze roamed over Tira's body, starting at her head and ending with her breasts. "You're a delicious looking morsel! I think I'll take you for myself!"

"I'm tired of this!" Tira complained and she swung her ring blade at the nearest brigand, effectively decapitating the worthless soldier. "Your souls aren't even a worthy snack!" She leapt to the attack, slaying two more brigands before the leader and the rest of his cronies even thought of defending themselves.

"Wha…Who are you?" The leader staggered back, realizing he was in for a lot more than he bargained for.

"Hee hee." Tira giggled at the look on the brigand's face. "You look so cute when you're about to die!" The aquamarine-haired assassin threw her blade out, slicing the leader's sword in two and slashing him through the chest. A faint purple glow erupted from the wound and was quickly absorbed by the ring blade.

"Let's get out of here!" The remaining two brigands faced each other fearfully before running away. Tira gave a small pout and slumped on the ground, staring mournfully at the bloody corpses on the grass.

"Aww…You guys are no fun at all." Tira said in a whining voice. She felt a sudden lance of pain shoot through her arm and she looked at it alarmingly. "Be patient for a little longer, master…I'll find you a new body." She pushed herself off of the ground, wiping mud and dirt from her green clothes and the purple tattoos on her skin. Once again, she set off in the direction of Athens, Greece, intent on fulfilling her master's desire and once again letting him roam the world free.

_---_

Tira finally arrived in Athens and smiled to herself. Soon, her mission would be complete and she could begin her killing again. Her first task was to find the building where this Sophitia character lived. Tira grabbed a random passerby by the arm and glared at his face. "Where does Sophitia live?"

"O-Over t-there…" The man said in a shaking voice, overwhelmed by fear and the aura of evil radiating from Tira.

"Thank you." Tira threw the man away and began walking in the direction the man had pointed, a small temple on the outskirts of the city that was a place of worship for the god, Zeus. Other people gave her a wide berth, eyeing her and her weapon warily. Tira smiled throughout all of this, ignoring the looks and envisioning her master come back to life and ready to begin the slaughter. Her smile grew deeper. Yes…As soon as she succeeded, they would be able to kill again and she'd be able to live as she always had…An assassin.

_---_

A couple of minutes later, she reached the temple grounds. The temple, made out of shining white marble was encompassed by sprawling gardens and fountains dotted the landscape. Tira's smile became ironic. It was here, in holy ground dedicated to the gods, that the Soul Edge would once again become free and launch of a wide path of destruction and pain. She was about to step inside when she felt someone grab her arm. Spinning, she glared at the distraction, one of the temple guards.

"I'm sorry, but you're not allowed to enter with a weapon." He pointed to the ring blade she held. "I believe it is a weapon of evil power."

"You're right." Tira remarked as she slew the guard and rushed inside, racing for the living quarters, which she noticed were on the second quarter due to a sign posted on the marble walls. Grinning to herself, she leapt across the stairs, heading for the section of the building where Sophitia was living.

Finally, she arrived in a large, side building that was at the edge of the temple. Stepping inside and hefting her ring blade, she looked around. "I need…to find my master a new host." She looked at the pale, purple fire that laced the ring's edge. Her master was growing restless and it wouldn't be soon before he would get fed up with her tardiness.

She walked down the hall, looking at the various weapons that were hung on the wall. Tira scanned the wooden doors that she passed; using her senses to determine whether or not there was a presence behind each of them. However, none of the rooms in the hallway seemed to radiate the feeling of someone being inside. When she reached the end of the hallway, she saw that there were two rooms in front of her. The room to the left had a closed door while the one of the right was wide open and was lit with a warm light. Going on a hunch, she entered the room on the right where a sword suddenly whipped to her throat.

"Oh…I'm sorry. Were you expecting to be able to infect someone with Soul Edge?" Cassandra cooed from her position from the right of Tira. She glared angrily at the sword in front of her and was about to drive her weapon right into the girl's stomach when another sword whipped in front of her.

"You'd better leave before we get angry." It was Sophitia this time, glaring at the assassin in front of her. "Take your cursed weapon and get out of here."

Tira sighed inwardly. She had chosen the wrong room and now she had failed her master again. There was no way she could kill both of them at once and if she tried to kill one sister, the other would just kill her and gain control of Soul Edge's essence…And most likely purify it. That would be unforgivable.

Since there was no way she could defeat both of them, she ducked under their sword and found the quickest way to get out, namely a window on the far wall. Crashing through the ground, she landed to the ground without a sound and immediately rushed off before she could get caught.

"Hmm? Why'd she jump out?" Cassandra rushed to the window, looking at the green-haired assassin. "That didn't make any sense."

"I don't know. Just as long as she's gone." Sophitia sighed and sheathed her sword. "I don't want anything else to do with that weapon."

"I understand, sister. Come on, let's check on your two boys." Cassandra sheathed her sword as well and the two of them walked to the room with the closed door, whispering hellos as they saw Sophitia's two children.

_---_

"Grr…Master…" Tira grumbled to herself angrily. "Don't worry. I'll find a better host for you." She stamped on the ground, frustrated. "I'm so angry! Stupid woman won't even let me have one of her children!"

"Hah hah! Your sins have caught up with you!" A squeaky voice echoed throughout the forest that she had run into.

"Who's that?" Tira held up her ring blade in a defensive position, eying her surroundings warily. There was a small poof of smoke and a man with a mechanical arm and wearing a mask popped out of nowhere.

"It is I, Yoshimitsu! It is time for my clan members to get their revenge!" Crowing his battle cry, he attacked Tira fiercely. Swinging his blade directly at Tira's neck, he was about to connect when purple fire leaped from her weapon and engulfed him in their pain. He let out a small shriek before jumping away from the living fire. "I see you still carry that! Appearances are very deceiving!"

"Why don't you shut up? You irritate me!" Tira narrowed her eyes at the infuriating man in front of her. "Just die!"

"Never! As long as my clan members lie without their vengeance, I will never die!" Yoshimitsu retorted. "It is possible…That I made a small mistake in terms of strength." He bared his sword in an offensive stance. "But it is a small mistake!" He suddenly disappeared, only to appear behind Tira and swing his sword again.

The blue green-haired girl swung her ring blade behind her to block his attack before pushing him back and swinging her ring at Yoshimitsu's midriff. Yoshimitsu blocked the attack and leaped back as another blast of soulfire threatened to envelop him. He landed a little farther away from Tira.

"It appears that I am not strong enough! I shall be back, for I am Yoshimitsu!" He suddenly disappeared, leaving a very disgruntled Tira.

"That guy is so annoying! Why can't he leave me alone?" Tira said angrily, not noticing that the purple soulfire had been growing restless. "Well, time to find a new host." She turned to continue on her journey when pain suddenly lanced through the hand that was holding her ring blade.

She turned frantic eyes towards it. "What?" She screamed as the soulfire spread across her arm, seemingly doing no harm to it but searing the soul inside, destroying it to make room for its new guest. "Nightmare!" She collapsed on her knees, still screaming as the fire spread throughout her body, enveloping her with its evil energy and destroying what remained of her soul.

"Master! Why?" Tira shrieked as the pain continued to wrack her limbs and chest.

A shimmering image of Nightmare, her master, appeared in front of her. "You have taken too long to find me a host, servant. I have decided on you."

"No! I said I'd find one for you!" Tira protested, gasping from the burning sensation she felt inside.

"You devoted yourself to me."

"I meant I would serve you with my body and mind!" Tira shouted, tears of pain sliding from her purple eyes. "Don't!"

"Nevertheless, I am taking you on your offer of your body. I need one and you will be it." Nightmare lifted his clawed hand, clenching it a couple of times. "Do not worry, Tira. You shall still exist…Partially." After clenching and unclenching it one last time, he placed the image of his clawed hand on top of Tira's head.

The aquamarine-haired assassin felt a sharp pain resound through her skull. Screaming one last time, she collapsed into unconscious, not seeing the radiant joy of the soulfire as it enveloped her whole body and slowly transformed it to her will.

_---_

A couple of seconds later, Tira shook slightly and pushed herself up, smiling widely. She brushed back her now dark-purple hair, her eyes still closed. Now, instead of the green, forest-like garb she normally wore, all of her clothes were stained with the purple color of the soulfire. Even her skin hadn't escaped the fire's touch and now shone with a light purple luster as well. The assassin picked up her ring blade, the fleshy part of the weapon now a deep purple as well.

Finally, the assassin opened her eyes. Instead of the normal white of the eye, it was now a deep, enveloping black, like the black you see when you stare down into an endless hole or into the blackest, moonless night. The only light that emanating from her eyes were her purple irises, shining like miniature beacons.

Tira stretched languidly, enjoying the sensation. "Ah…So this is my new host. I've been tired of staying in Soul Edge." She looked at the weapon at her side, which now glowed with a slightly green tinge. "I told you that you wouldn't disappear entirely. Do not worry. I will find you a host, just like you found me one. I couldn't do without my servant." Tira stretched again, smiling and looking over her body, enjoying the different shades of purple that stretched over her clothes and skin.

"This might take some getting used to, however." Tira looked down at her breasts, barely restrained by the purple cloth that covered them. "But I must persevere. For I am the Soul Edge, and I have returned!" Tira left the forest, ready to cause havoc and destruction.

* * *

Chris: I hope you enjoyed it! And if there's a little OOCness, then I'm sorry as I really don't know how to portray the Soul Edge.

And I will keep calling Tira, Tira, because I can't think of a different name for her. I could certainly call her Nightmare, but that just doesn't seem right. Chances are I'll keep her at Tira, unless someone gives me a better name.

So, review please and I'll see how quickly I can update! Oh, and my OC comes in next chapter! Tell me whether or not I'm pushing it…Although I probably won't.


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